Animal stall



NOV. '5, 1940. R 'J MURDQC'K 2,220,666

ANIMAL STALL Filed 001'.. 19, 1959 RALPH J. MURDOCK INVENTOR Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvement in stalls for livestock and more particularly tostalls for use in cow barns.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and practical stall construction which may be inexpensively manufactured and assembled.

A further object is to provide an improved stall partition which may easily and quickly be moved from lowered to raised position without binding and remain in the position to which it is moved.

A further object is to provide a partition of the last above-mentioned character which may be raised in part and automatically returned to its lowered position when released.

A further object is to provide a freely movable counterbalanced swinging or pivoted partition of the above character which will remain in its raised position until otherwise acted upon, yet freely fall to lowered position when moved from its extreme raised position.

Other objects" will be in part obvious from the annexed drawing and in part hereinafter indicated in connection therewith by the following 25 analysis of this invention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of parts, the unique relation of the members, and in the relative proportioning and disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art to fully comprehend the underlying features of the invention, that they may embody the same by the several modifications in structure and relation con- 35 templated by the invention, a drawing depicting the preferred form has been annexed as part of this disclosure, and. in such drawing like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout the views, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing such parts of a single complete stall as are necessary to understand the invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed side elevational view partially in section.

The invention will be hereinafter described as being constructed mainly of wood, but it is, of course, to be understood that metal and concrete may be substituted as and where desired.

Referring now to the drawing in detail and more particularly to Fig. 1, 5 indicates a base sill at the front end of the stall which usually separates the stall from the feed trough. A top beam or bar 6 connects a plurality of stalls and usually constitutes a part of the barn framework. Connecting the members 5 and 6 are a,

plurality of vertically disposed posts comprising, in the present instance, two spaced boards I and 8 separated substantially the width of the members 5 and 6 and constituting what may be called the head frame and supporting a stanchion 9 of 5 any desired form. The board I has its upper part slotted throughout substantially half its length as indicated at I0, While the other board 8 is preferably slotted for only a portion of its distance at its upper part as indicated at H. In 10 these slots is positioned a movable arm or partition member I2 which is pivoted off-center as at I 3 by a bolt or pin passing through the upper end portion of the partition member l-2.

Between the boards I and 8 and at one side of 15 the vertical plane through which the arms I! swing is a counter-weight l4 flexibly connected by means of a cord or the like l5 passing over a pulley Hi to one side of the arm l2 where it is secured tothe under side at the point ll. Thus the arm is so positioned and mounted as to swing in the slots I0 and H in 'a substantially vertical plane parallel to the movement of the counterweight mechanism as clearly shown in Fig. 1. By having the partition arm l2 pivoted as at I3 in its off-center relation, the counterweight will hold the partition in its extreme raised position as shown at the right of Fig. 1, yet will permit this partition l-2 to move automatically downwardly into horizontal position after it passes a certain point. In other words, it will fall by gravity the remaining distance until it is stopped by a pin or bolt l8 passing transversely through the board 1 at the base of the slot Hi.

It will be noted particularly that the counterweight M and cord l5 are at one side of the post-like member formed by the boards I and 8 thereby not to interfere in any way with the swinging movement of the partition arms l2. By having the cord or rope I5 passing downwardly to one side of the partition member l2 as shown clearly at the right of Fig. 1 then there is little or no danger of the partition member binding or cramping in the slots I0 and l I in its relative vertical movement as both parts work in parallel planes.

As is well known to thosefamiliar with cattle, horses and the like, many of them object to backing out of a stall but attempt to turn around before leaving. With such animals the movable partition herein shown and described is of particular advantage in that it can be easily raised to permit such turning. Further, animals after lying down frequently shift their position and on rising come up under the partition and where such partitions are made of rigid piping embedded in concrete, for example, there is serious danger of injury. Therefore, by having a partition arm which will yield under the upward movement of the animal this objection is eliminated and the arm will fall to normal horizontal position when the animal is again properly aligned in the stall.

Without further analysis the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting certain features that from the standpoint of the prior art fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a stall construction, in combination, a head frame comprising upper and lower bars joined at their sides by pairs of spaced slotted posts, movable arms pivotally connected between the sides of one of said slotted posts of each pair and extending through the slot of the other post of said pair, pulleys adjacent the upper bar and at the side of the slots in said posts, a counterweight and a flexible connection between the counterweight and the middle portion of each arm and passing over the pulleys, said flexible connections being positioned at one side of the path of travel of said arms to prevent binding. 5 2. In a stall construction, in combination, a framework comprising upper and lower bars joined at their sides by pairs of spaced slotted posts, movable arms pivoted in off-center relation between the sides of one of said slotted posts of 10 each pair and extending through the slot of the other post of said pair, the slots in the posts through which the arms extend being extended downwardly to a point where the said arms will be arrested in substantially elevated horizontal 15 position, pulleys adjacent the upper bar and at the side of the slots in said posts, flexible members passing over said pulleys, each connected at one end to the central side-part of its movable arm and at its other end with a counterweight 0 whereby said counterweight and flexible connection operate in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the swinging arms, thereby to hold the arms in extreme raised position or to allow said arms to fall to normal horizontal position 25 when only partially raised.

RALPH J. MURDOCK. 

